“This month, FastCompany identified car2go as one of the 2010 best and boldest ideas to construct the perfect city. It’s going to revolutionize the way we address our transportation needs in congested cities, and Austin may be just the beginning. It also demonstrates how Daimler is leading the auto industry by expanding its core business and creating new business models to address the changing needs of society.

“Imagine a fleet of 200 car2gos, located throughout your city. You can take off at affordable “by-the-minute” rates whenever you want without worrying about fuel, insurance, maintenance or even parking. Unlike traditional car sharing programs, Residents of Austin will soon be able to rent a car and be charged by the minute, rather than a full day, and charges include not only fuel but also parking. There is NO OTHER PROGRAM LIKE THIS anywhere in the U.S. Members can drive where they want and for as long as they want, then can simply park the car at their final destination within the greater Downtown Area and be done. With car2go, you do not need to return the car to the spot where you picked it up.

“Car2go recently concluded a 6-month pilot program with the City of Austin and will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 20th for their innovative efforts to improve air quality.”

The program is noteworthy but not the first. The authors of this program should give Zipcar and a few others a little credit for there pioneering work in this area of conservation and innovation.

I read a blog that called this thing an Amish car. That would be quite amusing if it wasn’t only powered by the horse but for the horse. You see this vehicle is not built for the benefit of the person riding inside but it helps racehorses train for the big day.

According to the Kurt Systems website, “For on-track or off-track use suitable for racehorses, trotters, endurance and camel training fully adjustable and controlled speeds from walking pace to galloping at up to 16m/sec (60 km/h). Safe controlled training programs and performance evaluation. Confirm training intensity, with built-in hearth rate monitors. Allows trainers carry out regular fitness tests and comparisons.

“Various, precision designed hydraulically controlled, saddle/jockey weight accessories. Built-in, integrated, computerized testing systems, sophisticated fitness testing on the training/race track. Measure fitness with heart rate, blood lactate and oxygen uptake.”

Whatever happened to giving horses swimming lessons for training and rehab purposes? I was quite fond of seeing thoroughbreds doing the Australian crawl. As technology goes, they may be putting the cart before the horse on this one. Then again, perhaps the next Seattle Slew may be just around the corner.

The Dirigo diesel 3-wheeler was able to squeeze out 88 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) with a top speed of 72 mph because of its attention to aerodynamics. The Ricker Truck was also diesel powered and achieved 70 MPGe using its laminated foam construction and light weight body.

MIT’s Porsche EV was able to cruise with a 164 MPGe, plug to wheel efficiency. Fifteen MIT students used 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries for the project. The three wheeled converted grocery getter Moonbeam (which cost only $2500 to build) sailed along at 93 MPGe.

And 21st Century Motor Works entered a wood-gas powered truck that achieved 27.7 MGPe using carbon sequestering of cord wood, leaves and cardboard. The Roopod 2-cylinder diesel wasn’t running at race time so it was symbolically pushed across the start line.

These vehicles may not be entered in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition any time soon. But, they show the potential of what is achievable by garage inventors and small groups of people who put their heads and hearts into raising the bar on MPG’s for all future vehicles.

A typical velomobile is a human-powered vehicle (some come with electric assist, too) that one sits inside, is sheltered by the elements, and pedal like a bicycle. Human energy is all that is typically needed to propel the velomobile.

But, a team at Stuttgart University in Germany has added a twist to this little iconic vehicle by making one that is wind-powered. The Ventomobile uses wind energy and a turbine atop the vehicle to generate kinetic energy to move the green beast forward.

The driver of the Ventomobile uses foot pedals to steer the craft while they use their hands to face the turbine into the wind (or at a preferred angle to the wind) to create the needed propelling energy.

Now, some may argue that the Ventomobile is nothing more than an interesting novelty. But this vehicle came in first place in the North Holland Aeolus Race in August 2008 beating out five other universities and research centers.

The Ventomobile did this amazing feat by driving into the wind with a top speed of around 15 mph. Traveling with the wind is no big deal for any vehicle but when running against the wind, as Bob Seeger may attest, just may take the power of a Ventomobile.

What the company is saying however is not only will the car be able to achieve 100 mpg using biodiesel or standard diesel fuel but it will also accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds. Some other details the company is willing to part with include that this hydraulic hybrid car uses true cylinder deactivation to save fuel, has no transmission, no valves, no flywheel or no crankshaft weights.

The Lightning hydraulic hybrid uses an upscale form of regenerative braking to recapture energy, dump it back into the hydraulic accumulator and help in acceleration. The body of the vehicle is similar to Indy cars, using chrome molybdenum tubing. The car is also aerodynamically designed to cut down on drag and if put into production this would be one of the fastest delivery vehicles on the planet.

They say that “necessity is the mother of invention”. In these trying automotive times, with the Big 3 Automakers stumbling close to bankruptcy it’s engaging to see the small entrepreneur stepping forward with new ideas and concrete green concepts.

The 10 Mini-e electric cars that BMW is piloting in New York City are part of the 500 lot of cars the manufacturers says it will rollout later this year as part of a field study. Around 450 Mini Es will be leased to consumers who will be able to drive up to 150 miles on one charge.

The New York Mini E vehicles will be used by SCOUT inspectors to check out potholes and graffiti and inspectors typically travel up to 100 miles per day. The Mini E (not Minnie Me) vehicles are powered by lithium ion batteries and an electric motor rated at 201 hp equivalent. The Mini E can go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds and have an electronically limited top end speed of 95 mph.

The Parajet Skycar (pictured) on the other hand is a totally different beast altogether, though an environmentally friendly one at that. Powered by bio fuel, the Parajet Skycar can take off from a 200 meter landing strip with only 3 minutes of wing preparation.

The Parawing can also be folded and put away into the trunk of the car by the driver as needed. According to the manufacturers, the Parajet Skycar is street legal and when flying it can go up to 100 mph. If the Skycar gets in trouble its parachute deploys and it glides to a smooth landing. The vehicle can be used on road or off road as needed.

A few years ago the BMW Mini E would have seemed as farfetched as the Parajet Skycar is now. It goes to show you how quickly things change and how AFVs are taking the streets and now skies by storm.